1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a lane maintenance control method to control a vehicle to travel while remaining in a given lane.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a maximum traveling speed of a vehicle increases in proportion to enhanced engine performance. Thus, to improve vehicle traveling stability and driver convenience, various driver assistant systems have been installed in vehicles. The driver assistant systems may be basically classified into safety systems and convenience systems.
First, safety systems include an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) in which wheels are repeatedly locked and unlocked according to wheel slip during braking to achieve braking stability, a Traction Control System (TCS) to prevent slip of drive wheels during acceleration of a vehicle, an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system as a combination of ABS and TCS to enhance vehicle stability, a Pre-Crash System (PCS) to alleviate collision shock, and the like.
Convenience systems include an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system as a longitudinal traveling assistant device, a Lane maintenance System (LKS) as a transversal traveling assistant device, a Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system, and the like.
Of the aforementioned systems, LKS is a lane departure preventing system to assist a vehicle in remaining in a given lane by generating an appropriate moment when the vehicle departs from the lane. To this end, conventionally, steering control using Electric Power Steering (EPS) to supply assistive steering power using a motor when a driver manipulates a steering wheel has been performed. However, steering control is possible only in a vehicle provided with EPS and may confuse the driver.